A Fresh New Attitude

Pastor Joel at Lakewood Church

1. Your attitude can have a greater impact on your success than your IQ. If you don’ have the right attitude, then you may be stopped from rising higher.
2. Work on the inside.
1. We spend a lot of time and money making sure we look good on the outside
2. nice clothes, a pretty face, and good makeup can’t hide an ugly inside.
1. Pastor Joel had a crush on a pretty girl. When he finally got the nerve to talk to her she had a bad attitude and he never
3. Put on a new attitude
1. Colossians 3:12-14
1. So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
2. A resume describes a person’s qualifications but interviews are scheduled to learn about the person’s attitude.
4. You attitude will determine your aptitude.
1. Live nose up
1. The attitude indicator (AI), formerly known as the gyro horizon or artificial horizon, is a flight instrument that informs the pilot of the aircraft orientation relative to Earth's horizon, and gives an immediate indication of the smallest orientation change…Attitude indicators are also used on manned spacecraft and are called Flight Director Attitude Indicators (FDAI), where they indicate the craft's yaw angle (nose left or right), pitch (nose up or down), roll, and orbit relative to a fixed-space inertial reference frame from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).
1. We can all control our attitude.
2. You have to have a good attitude on purpose.
2. Small tweaks can cause a huge difference.
2. Isaiah 61:3
1. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
2. If you wear the same clothes everyday you’ll develop an odor and no one will want to be around you. So you have to put on a fresh new attitude daily.
3. Ephesians 4:23
1. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
5. Examples
1. Joseph (Genesis 37)
1. Joseph’s prestigious position, his riches, his relationship with the high level society had corrupted neither his character nor his integrity. He remained faithful to God regardless of the season where he found himself. Either as a privileged son, Potiphar’s slave, a prisoner or the Prime Minister of Egypt, we can recognize this godly man by his blameless attitude. When facing injustice, Joseph demonstrates grace and walks the second mile. Not only, does he reassure his brothers of his good intentions towards them but in addition, he commits himself to take care of their families and lets God be his judge. What was supposed to destroy and discourage Joseph, has actually initiated his journey towards his destiny.
2. Dirty Laundry
1. A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”Her husband looked on, but remained silent.Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.About one month later, the woman was surprised to see nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?”The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.
1. Titus 1:15
1. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
6. Make up your mind to enjoy this day.
1. Matthew 5:45
1. that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
2. Job
1. Job 19:25
1. I know that my redeemer[a] lives,and that in the end he will stand on the earth
3. Eagles
1. Their prey items include waterfowl and small mammals like squirrels, prairie dogs, raccoons and rabbits. Bald eagles are opportunistic predators meaning that in addition to hunting for live prey, they will steal from other animals (primarily from other eagles or smaller fish eating birds) or scavenge on carrion.
2. Isaiah 40:31
1. …but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
4. Unclog Your Heart
1. A large clot can partially or completely block the flow of blood through the artery (NHLBI, 2012b). If treatment isn't done immediately after a heart attack, many patients will need to undergo coronary angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) later to improve blood supply to the heart muscle. 
1. Proverbs 4:23
1. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Not Another Day

Ed Newton @ Community Bible Church

Pastor Ed was in Alaska and invited to go on a 30 mile four-wheeler ride to a glacier and got into an accident because he got loose. He didn't have to pay for the damage that he caused. The owner of the 4-wheeler told him that he was forgive and a weight was lifted off of his shoulders because 4-wheelers are very expensive!!!

Forgiveness is choosing not to live in regret.

Genesis 45:1-5

1. The Reunion of Jeopardy:   "I am Joseph" (Genesis 45:1-3)
1. Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, "Out, all of you!" So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace. "I am Joseph!" he said to his brothers. "Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them.
1. The reunion was for Joseph's brothers, not for Joseph. Joseph had been egyptianized so the brothers didn't recognize him.
2. Joseph Wept:  This (v. 2) was the third of five times he wept over his brothers (42:24; 43:30; 45:14; 50:17; cf. 50:1).
3. Brothers Worry:  (bahal) be disturbed, alarmed, terrified.
2. Forgiving is Not Forgetting:
1. The only person who can forgive AND forget is God.
2. High School Student’s Experience
1. Mom and dad were getting a divorce because mom had been unfaithful. Mom living with boyfriend and dad is depressed. Student invited boyfriend to McDonald's and bought him dinner. Told him that her family's life will never be the same but she's not going to live in anger, bitterness, and rage so she relinquished the vengeance that she wanted.
3. Reconciliation is the goal
1. Take the initiative to eliminate the distance.  The command "come near" (nagaš) is plural indicates all the brothers are intended.
4. Revenge brings grief
1. The word "please" was a refusal to not be harsh.  
3. Forgiving is not overlooking the circumstances
1. actions have consequences.
2. The Request of a Juncture:  "Come near" (Genesis 45:4)
4. Forgiving is Not Settling:
1. Forgiveness is 1 dimensional and reconciliation is 2 dimensional.
2. Johnny and Jenny
1. Johnny Johnny  killed a duck with his slingshot and Jenny saw him! She said to him,  "I will remember the duck.”
2. Jenny used the duck to manipulate her brother into doing her chores.
3. Finally, Johnny couldn’t carry the weight and confessed what he’d done to his Grandma.
4. Grandma actually saw the entire incident.
1. Grandma is God and Jenny is the guilt that you carry
3. The Reassurance of Joy: "Do not be distressed or angry" (Genesis 45:5)
1. But don't be upset, and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.
2. Happiness vs. Joy
1. Happiness is based on circumstances.
2. Joy is based on a concrete reality of something that never changes. 
1. We have to walk through difficulty and get healing from Jesus to have joy.
4. Forgiving is Giving:
1. Thomas Edison: Worked hours to create the first light bulb and his assistant accidentally dropped it. So they worked hours to create another lightbulb and Edison gave him another chance to carry the lightbulb to the test lab.
3.  
5. The Reason of Justice: "Preserve a life" (Genesis 45:5-7)
1. But don't be upset, and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.
2. Robert Smith's son was murdered. He wrote the murderer a letter. The murders had received a lot of threat mail from family members so he was hesitant to reply to Robert.
1. God could have stopped your pain!  
2. God will never waste your pain, but will use it for a purpose bigger than you. 
6. Forgiving is trusting: 
1. The Release of : "Meant for Evil, God used for Good" (Genesis 50:15-21)
1. Forgiveness is Freedom from Fear. 
2. It was not Joseph living in fear, but his brothers.  
3. "For the wicked flee when no one pursues" (Proverbs 28:1)
7. Forgiving is Comforting:
1. Tractor Pull Analogy
2. Practical steps in offering forgiveness
1. Step One: Forgiving the Offender in Prayer
2. Step Two: Forgiving the Offender in Person

Praise & Worship

"Deep Cries Out" by Amanda Gilbertson, Christiann Koepke, and 

William Matthews

"Nothing But The Blood" by Robert Lowry

"Always" by Jason Ingram and Kristian Stanfill

"Jesus Messiah" by Daniel Carson, Ed Cash, Jesse Reeves, and Chris Tomlin

The church provided this “listener’s guide” for us to follow along with the message and take notes

The Examination of Elevation

Listener Guide provided by Pastor Ed

The Examination of Elevation

• When we rise up,  will we forget where we came from?
• Don't let your platform influence you, but instead use your platform to influence others.

1. Genesis 41
2. Proverbs 27:21
1. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.
2. Reminder:  Waiting Warns, Silence Shapes, Pain Prunes, but Prosperity has the ability to Poison.
3. The Tale of Three Coats:
1. Son: Father's Coat.
2. Servant­­­: Potiphar's Coat. Genesis 39
3. Savior: Pharaoh's Coat.
1. He's no longer defined by status.
3. Sermon Principles:  The "Examination of Elevation" will occur when you receive a...
1. Praised Ability:  Genesis 41:15-"I have heard it said of you"
1. Response:  "without God this is not possible" (16)
2. Reveals: "doubling of Pharaoh's dream means the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about" (32)
3. Releases:  "select a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (33)
1. Pride will make you hold on to and pay for things that you really don’t need in your life.
1. Pastor finds a track jacket at a thrift store. His daughters told him he looked good in it so he decided to buy it. The zipper broke so he decided to buy the jacket  go home, and cut it off. He had too much pride to ask the customer service for help but someone noticed that he was stuck.
4. Provided Authority: Genesis 41:41-43-"thus he (Pharaoh) set him over the land of Egypt."
1. Ring: Resources
2. Robe:  Ruler
3. Necklace:  Rank
4. You get your platform to make a name for God.
1. Pastor showed up for a funeral and it was cold outside.  Pastor Ed "finds" coat on coat rack in greenroom. He puts it on thinking it's a gift from God. He realized at the end of the day that the coat belonged to an elderly funeral worker. He approached the man and admitted his wrong but the old man said, "Today you needed it a whole lot more than I did."
5. Posses Autonomy: Genesis 41:44 - "without your consent no one shall lift up a hand or foot in all of the land of Egypt."
1. You have freedom to do whatever you want to do.  How do you respond?
1. This freedom means that you can be trusted.
6. Core Values of a Leader that Excel within Elevation: Genesis 41:46-49
1. Honor:  Give value to all people.
2. Humble:  Steward of Gifts not an owner.
1. Flight attendant asks Muhammed Ali to fasten his seatbelt. Superman don't need no seatbelt. Superman don't need no plane either.
2. If we don't humble ourselves, God will humble us.
1. Matthew 23:12
1. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
3. Hustle:  Takes Initiative, makes things better.
1. Hustle beats talent when talent doesn't hustle.
4. Hungry: Passionate to Succeed
5. Hospitality:  Servitude

• Final Thought: How do we know whether Joseph passed the "Examination of Elevation”?
• Genesis 41:51:  "God has made me forget all my hardship and my father's house"
• Note: Joseph's Children's names are in Hebrew, which is a bold statement to the Pharaoh of the land. 
• Manasseh: To Forget
• Ephraim:  Doubly fruitful
• He did not give his children Egyptians names because he never forgot where he came from.
• I'm not the victim, I'm the victor.
• At times people will fail you,  but Jesus never will.
• Pastor Ed signed up for a marathon. He saw 2 college students and he was determined to win. What he didn't know was those college students weren't even running in the marathon. He thought he was first, but he was last. The young man he was following was not chasing the same goal as he was. In following the wrong person, he got off track
• Sometimes we look to the wrong people for example.

Praise & Worship

This Is Amazing Grace" by Josh Farro, Jeremy Riddle, & Phil Wickham

"O The Deep Deep Love Of Jesus" by Samuel Trevor Francis And Thomas J. Williams

"Flawless" by Barry Graul, Bart Millard, Ben Glover, David Garcia, Mike Scheuchzer, Nathan Cochran, Robby Shaffer

"Love Came Down" by Jeremy Edwardson, Brian Johnson, Ian McIntosh, and Jeremy Riddle